SPROWSTON NURSERY PLAYGROUP
Minutes of AGM Wednesday 11[th] May 2022 @ 7:00pm Catton Room
- Report for period September 2020 August 2021
1. ATTENDEES
Members/ Parents – Nicola Kastrati, Sam Robson-Keay, Hannah Kirby, Laura ShingfieldWright, Sadie Tooke, Anna Bevan, Anna Barney, Alice Cassell, Sarah Celaj, Beth Slater, Rachel Larter, Amy Sadd, Rosie Hall
Non Members - Julie Chettleburgh, Joanne Burgess, Amanda Churcher, Marilyn Hood, David Hood, Scarlett Morley, Maz Poole, Rachel Barrett
Julie chaired the meeting thanking everyone for coming, happy to see so many faces in person since the last meetings were via zoom.
Safeguarding and code of conduct – if anyone has any concerns regarding safeguarding then they can bring to attention of the staff at any time, any safeguarding concern regarding Rachel, bring to Julie’s attention. Also in these unprecedented times, any safeguarding concern in the wider community can be reported to social services directly.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the previous AGM on Wednesday April 21[st] 2021 were all good and agreed.
3. Treasurers Report
End of year Balances Aug 31[st] 2021 current account £27,954.04 reserves account £50,059.04
Covid-19 caused disruption over the year, which saw the Nursery having to close for long periods of time, considering this we have done well for the year.
Total income for the year £99,326.74 This is in part to charitable activities which were £1,125.50 which included – Christmas tea towels and cards a total of £409.00 Easter walk fundraiser a total of £716.50 Donations from Parents £80.00 Aldi donating £400.00
We also received Government funding which totalled £81,867.14, SEND funding which was a total of £13,482.69.
Total Expenditure for the year was £92,957.84. Our biggest expense was wages at £78,411.60. We also changed accountants this year; this cost of this came to £1,025.80.
Rent was £7,784.81 -where we made a saving due to the nursery being closed to Covid-19 for such long periods of time due to Covid
We would like to thank David Hood for being so understanding during this period. Fundraising expenses totalled £839.23; this was for gifts for the children i.e Toys, Chocolates and Easter eggs.
Last year’s income was £130,116, this year it is £99,326 a decrease of £30,790 down 24% again this can be explained with long periods of the premises being closed, although the nursery still received funding tp pay wages, we did not get any extra funding from nonfunded children or SEN money. Last years expenditure was £91,822, this year it was £92,957.84, an increase of £1,135.84.
The staff were being paid during lockdown on their contracted wages levels. Wages were a lot lower due to meetings being via zoom and training sessions reduced.
The playgroup maintains a reserves account to pay redundancy to staff should it be necessary.
Overall, a very challenging year, with a lot of uncertainty about funding and very difficult to predict budgets going forward due to the changing in Government policies during the pandemic and the expenses involved. The playgroup did all they could to manage expenses and finances and hopefully enables us to remain sustainable for the foreseeable future.
Joanne Burgess treasurer
4. Committee Report
Thank you all for coming to attend this AGM. The period from September 2020 to August 2021 saw a continued period of change and stressful situations for playgroup and the rest of the world to deal with.
In the Autumn term, we re-opened after the closure due to the pandemic, using the busy room and without the hall and a lower amount of children. The staff worked hard to continue to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all the children, however parents and families were not allowed into the building. Any meetings were carried out by zoom or other apps in order to keep communication up to date. The staff decorated the room (thanks to Brewers for supplying the paint) and set up new equipment and areas to provide further play experiences.
The staff also had to continually update policies and procedures as Government guidelines changed frequently, often without much notice. They have had to be inventive with the ways things are done but they have always maintained positivity and adapted well and dealt with the stress whilst continuing through it all to support our families.
In November 2020, unfortunately some staff finally caught Covid and the playgroup had to close for a short period. The staff were brilliant in the way they all supported and helped each other at this very difficult time and liaising with the necessary Government departments so thank you all for your help.
Unfortunately, the playgroup was not able to put on a Christmas plays as we could not let visitors into the setting but the children all still had a great Christmas experience thanks to the deliveries from Ms Claus and her elf!
We had a change of Treasurer as Rebecca Cox finished after 6 years so many thanks to her for all her input, and Joanna Burgess started in this role.
This was a time full of PPE, Cleaning and testing which the staff all took in their stride.
We changed our accountant to Sarah Heffer and she and Daniel are providing us with excellent service and helping with all our queries.
Amanda also has taken on extra work doing our finances using Quick-books and she has been doing a great job with this.
Staff all did their First aid training and our Senco team have done a brilliant job or supporting any children with special needs and also gaining the funding to provide training and equipment.
Amanda and Rachel started working to get out new website developed and new Ipads were bought for the children to use. Planning was put in place to build a new canopy outside the busy room to provide a sheltered area.
Our staff always look to the positives and to try to work to help all of our children and families and to improve the playgroup environment. They have continued to support each other too through changing difficult times.
Thank you to all the committee who have joined us on our virtual journey with meetings (hopefully we will not have to return to those times) It is great to have your support and input at our meetings and for the staff to receive such great feedback.
I would like to thank David Hood for the work he always does for us and the support he and the Church give us. I would also like to give a special mention and thank you to Margaret Hardingham who recently passed away. For many years she was a leading light of Sprowston Nursery Playgroup and we would not be where we are today without her.
Thank you to Rachel for leading the team through all this and keeping positive and the support she has given me.
August 2021 saw us in a much better situation compared to Aug 2020 and we look forward to continued improvement and development in the coming year.
Julie Chettleburgh
Chairperson
5. Supervisor’s Report
In September 2020 we returned to playgroup under some government restrictions and guidance. We had to change how we received children into the setting with parents not being able to enter the building, we had lots of concerns about how this would work and we did some careful planning and it was proven to be very successful and a far better way for
the children to transition. At the end of November we sadly had confirmed cases of covid at the setting. Following the guidance from public health playgroup closed to support the control of the spread of the virus. As you can imagine staff were upset that could they have done more to prevent cases of covid, however speaking with public health they said that playgroup had done extremely well to have no cases prior to that time and that the nature of the virus is such that most places are going to have cases. At that time cases were on the increase and as a nation we all saw this progress around the country and lead to further government restrictions on us all. Thank fully all staff recovered. Mrs Claus and the elf did a great job ensuring that children were able to collect the Christmas crafts. January 2021 brought us some more challenges and changes to restrictions. We had put plans in place as we were expecting restricted opening, when the announcement came early years was not going to be under the same restrictions as other education settings. We reopened in January with some parents choosing to not send children to playgroup to minimise risk of infection, as we moved through the pandemic we gradually saw the return of the children and restrictions ease, sadly not enough for us to return to pre covid times so we were unable to do the usual school transitions however we worked with all receiving schools to ensure smooth transitions for all the children.
Michelle green completed her SEN training and became the groups sendco with Jo Whitbread adding to her role as send support assistant, Jo has many years of experience working with and implementing plans and support for children with additional needs. The role of sendco has many responsibilities, early identification and intervention is key in supporting learning and development of children and with the pandemic we were very aware of the impact this was going to and has impacted the development of children. Staff completed first aid training in June.
We were able to end the school year doing our summer concerts in reduced capacity by making use of our garden area and for the first time we were able to welcome parents into the setting. The children were amazing!
Thank you to Julie for all her help and support, and the committee. Thanks to David Hood for all his support helping us make adjustments to the building and ensuring we have heat and hot water. And to the church.
Thanks to Michelle for her support as assistant supervisor and Amanda who does the administration and always looks at grants and fundraising ideas for the playgroup. Thanks to the parents for continued support and the amazing children and to all the fantastic staff team they are an outstanding group of people.
6. Election of new committee members:
The election sheet has been completed with people nominated and seconded At least 60% of the committee have to be parents with children at playgroup (p) Only people with children attending playgroup can vote – raise hands.
| Proposed New Member | Committee Role | Votes in favour |
|---|---|---|
| Julie Chettleburgh | Chairperson | 13 |
| Joanne Burgess | Treasure | 13 |
| Nicki Kastrati(P) | Secretary | 12 |
| Hannah Kirby (P) | Committee member | 12 |
| Sam Robson -Keay (P) | Committee member | 12 |
| AmySadd(P) | Committee member | 12 |
| CallyCarter(P) | Committee member | 13 |
| Laura Shingfield Wright(P) | Committee member | 12 |
| Anna Bevan(P) | Committee member | 12 |
| Sarah Celaj (P) | Committee member | 12 |
- Items for Discussion – minor amendments to policies – no new policies – voted 13 votes
8. Any other business
Date and time of next AGM – November 2022 date to be confirmed
Sprowston Nursery Playgroup
Financial Activities
September 2020 - August 2021
| TOTAL | |
|---|---|
| Income | |
| Charitable activites | 1,125.50 |
| Donations and legacies | 480.00 |
| Government Funding | 81,867.14 |
| Parent Fees (Sales) | 5,274.50 |
| SEND Funding | 13,482.69 |
| Total Income | £102,229.83 |
| Cost of Sales | |
| Consumables | 569.28 |
| Equipment and Toys | 2,069.22 |
| Refreshments (Food and Drink) | 264.57 |
| Total Cost of Sales | £2,903.07 |
| TOTAL | £99,326.76 |
| Expenditures | |
| Accountancy | 1,031.63 |
| Bank Charges | 228.79 |
| Cleaning | 541.99 |
| Dues and Subscriptions | 382.19 |
| Employer National Insurance Expense | 0.00 |
| Fundraising Expenses | 839.23 |
| Other Professional Services | 263.07 |
| Payroll Expenses | 78,401.69 |
| DBS checks | 192.20 |
| Employer Pension Expense | 333.59 |
| Total Payroll Expenses | 78,927.48 |
| Printing, Postage and Stationery | 1,077.47 |
| Rent or Lease of Buildings | 7,784.81 |
| Repair and maintenance | 36.84 |
| Health & Safety | 82.35 |
| Total Repair and maintenance | 119.19 |
| Staff Training | 110.45 |
| Staff Uniform | 640.83 |
| Staff Welfare | 265.01 |
| Telephone / Internet | 706.38 |
| Total Expenditures | £92,918.52 |
| NET OPERATING INCOME | £6,408.24 |
| Other Income | |
| Apprentice Grant / Income | 2,000.00 |
| Interest Income | 43.01 |
| Total Other Income | £2,043.01 |
| NET OTHER INCOME | £2,043.01 |
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | £8,451.25 |
Accrual Basis Wednesday, 8 June 2022 01:42 pm GMT+01:00
1/1
Sprowston Nursery Playgroup
Balance Sheet
As of August 31, 2021
| TOTAL | |
|---|---|
| Fixed Asset | |
| Total Fixed Asset | |
| Cash at bank and in hand | |
| Current Account 1151 | 28,465.29 |
| Petty Cash (£100.00) | 43.94 |
| Savers 2546 | 50,059.04 |
| Total Cash at bank and in hand | £78,568.27 |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | £78,568.27 |
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | |
| Current Liabilities | |
| Accruals | 234.00 |
| HMRC Control Account 2021-22 | 202.75 |
| NEST | 33.81 |
| Parent payment on account (Deposits) | 1,152.00 |
| Student Loan Liability | 0.00 |
| Wages Control Account | -18.07 |
| Total Current Liabilities | £1,604.49 |
| Total Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | £1,604.49 |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS (LIABILITIES) | £76,963.78 |
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES | £76,963.78 |
| TOTAL NET ASSETS (LIABILITIES) | £76,963.78 |
| Charity funds | |
| Opening Balance Equity | 0.00 |
| Retained Earnings | 68,512.53 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | 8,451.25 |
| Total Charity funds | £76,963.78 |
Accrual Basis Wednesday, 8 June 2022 01:39 pm GMT+01:00
1/1
The accounts for Sprowston Nursery Playgroup were inspected by Sarah Heffer Accountancy Ltd and found to be in order.
Sarah Heffer Accountancy Ltd